The Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, said today that the Government of the Republic has suspended the changes planned by the Regional Government to the social mobility subsidy (SSM) until the amendments approved in the Assembly of the Republic are enacted. He made the statement during a hearing at the Committee on Infrastructure, Mobility and Housing of the Assembly of the Republic, stressing that the legislature is sovereign and that the executive is waiting for the final wording. On the 18th of March, he had said the Government was preparing a change so passengers from the Azores and Madeira would not need to pay the full cost of travel to the mainland upfront before receiving reimbursement. That plan was later overtaken by the 10th of Apri approval, with only the PSD voting against and IL, PCP and CDS-PP abstaining, of a proposal to alter the subsidy model, now called the Territorial Continuity Mechanism (TCM). One of the approved changes ends the maximum ceiling on the eligible cost of tickets, a measure Miguel Pinto Luz said the Government believes will fail and has already shown warning signs. He also said the Government cannot keep negotiating with banks and a platform while waiting for a presidential promulgation that may come within a week or two, and that implementation details are now being referred to the Ministry of Finance. Called to the commission over requests from JPP, Chega, and PS about the obligation to regularise contributory and tax status for access to the SSM, the minister noted that this requirement was removed in the approved amendments. During the debate, Francisco Gomes, Francisco César, Gonçalo Lage, Angélique da Teresa, and Filipe Sousa each criticised or defended different aspects of the new model, including ticket prices, the electronic platform, and the role of the State in covering the difference with airlines.
